Malaysia will get more freighter flights as e-commerce traffic grows

Increased freighter services have been added in Malaysia as a result of record e-commerce sales, and more are on the way.

Kerry Logistics stated last week that it has partnered with Malaysian cargo airline My Jet Xpress to increase flights from Macau to East Malaysia and Indonesia, in order to better serve an e-commerce client.

Kerry said the service began in March with five flights a month, but currently flies up to eight times a week, thanks to My Jet's investment in two Boeing 737s for the route, in addition to its four freighters.

"With the robust e-commerce market increasing at a quick pace, we acknowledge the consumer demand for increased transparency, speed, and reliability," My Jet chairman Mohamed Yunos stated.

"With a larger fleet of narrow and widebody aircraft, we expect to see My Jet Xpress emerge as one of the major players in the air freight market, expanding not just in Southeast Asia but also throughout Asia."

Kerry also announced that it would expand its collaboration with My Jet by providing scheduled flights from Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen to locations across Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.

"By offering scheduled flights and dedicated charters, as well as value-added services such as cross-border trucking, warehouse storage, and last-mile delivery, the new services will be able to support the rapid surge of the e-commerce market, the spike in freight demand, and capacity challenges going into peak season," the forwarder continued.

Meanwhile, AirAsia Logistics' Teleport started flying its first 737-800 freighter out of Kuala Lumpur earlier this month.

Following a quick switch to cargo during the Covid-crisis, the business purchased the converted aircraft in June, adding coverage from Malaysia to Bangkok, Manila, and Jakarta, which it said were its customers' important tradelanes in the region.

Teleport's CEO, Pete Chareonwongsak, stated that if the venture succeeds, "huge orders" of new and renovated freighters will be considered.

The rest of the year "looks set to be another busy season" for online retailers, according to COO Adrian Loretz, especially with the impending holidays.

"This peak season could witness record sales increase once again, especially in the e-commerce arena," he told The Loadstar.
We expect this demand to stay high in the future years, and we believe there is a structural capacity gap in Southeast Asia due to delayed border openings.